Month: May 2022

When the French people voted for a new president in April, they did so on a single day using paper ballots filled out in the privacy of official polling stations. France, being a normal First World democracy, takes election security seriously. Electronic voting machines are virtually never used. Mail-in voting has been banned nationwide since 1975 out of security fears. Voter rolls are regularly purged of the dead and those who have moved. It is a given that every French voter must show identification before being allowed to fill out a ballot.

The United States, by contrast, is an oligarchy (a regime where the elite rules) that is only pretending to be a democracy. This is why we use a Third World banana republic election system.

Veteran Child Psychologist Describes Surge in Patients Identifying as Transgender

May 11, 2022May 10, 2022 Susan Berry, PhD

A leading clinical child psychologist with over 15 years’ experience says she has seen a sharp increase in young patients now identifying as transgender.

According to a report at the Daily Mail’s Mail on Sunday, the mental health expert states she has seen the increase in the number of young patients claiming to be transgender since the COVID-19 lockdowns.

What Bill Maher Didn’t Know: U.S. Among Most Radically Pro-Abortion Nations and Most Pro-Lifers Are Women

May 11, 2022May 10, 2022 Susan Berry, PhD

HBO’s Real Time host Bill Maher said during his show Friday he was shocked to discover several facts about abortion he never knew until after the leaked Supreme Court draft opinion in the case that ultimately could overturn Roe v. Wade, the 1973 landmark decision that created a right to abortion.

Maher said until the media frenzy over the leaked draft opinion indicating the Supreme Court could be poised to uphold the right of states to regulate abortion, he was unaware the United States keeps company with the likes of China, North Korea, and a couple of other countries that allow unlimited abortion, and that most pro-life individuals are women.

Pro-Abortion Activists Target Homes of Justice Alito, Other Conservative Justices

May 11, 2022May 10, 2022 Julie Carr

Neil W. McCabe, the national political editor of The Star News Network, covered the May 9 protest in front of the family home of Justice Samuel Alito organized by ShutDownDC.

Commentary: Taxpayers Are Now Funding These 90 Plus ‘Equity’ Plans Across the Federal Government

May 11, 2022May 10, 2022 RealClearWire

Under the Biden administration, more than 90 federal agencies have pledged their commitment to equity by adopting action plans that put gender, race and other such factors at the center of their governmental missions.

The Equity Action Plans, which have received little notice since they were posted online last month following a document request from RealClearInvestigations, represent a “whole of government” fight against “entrenched disparities” and the “unbearable human costs of systemic racism.”

NIH, Agency Scientists Received Estimated $350 Million in Royalty Payments over Last Decade: Report

The National Institutes of Health and its scientists received an estimated $350 million in royalties from third-party payers between 2010 and 2020, according to an investigation by government transparency watchdog Open the Books.

The third-party payers are, according to the report, mostly pharmaceutical companies that credit NIH scientists as coinventors on various patents.

Music Spotlight: Ainsley Costello

May 11, 2022May 10, 2022 Bethany Bowman

NASHVILLE, Tennessee- Ainsley Costello comes from a musical background. When her dad, James Costello, was young, he moved to Los Angeles to “do the whole music thing” in much the same way that Costello has moved to Nashville. At one point he was in a touring band and toured the world. And even though he now has a day job, he was always in revolving bands, playing shows and playing music in the house.

Musk Says He Would Reverse Twitter Ban on Trump

Incoming Twitter owner Elon Musk said Tuesday he would reverse the social media platform’s ban on former President Donald Trump.

The decision to ban Trump, said Musk, a billionaire entrepreneur, was “morally wrong and flat-out stupid.”

Psaki Tells Americans That If You Don’t Support Roe v. Wade, You’re ‘Ultra MAGA’

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said opposing the Supreme Court precedent set in Roe v. Wade was an example of an “ultra MAGA” position in a Tuesday press conference.

Psaki said President Joe Biden used the phrase “ultra MAGA” to refer to Republicans with extreme or unpopular positions who, in his view, played too large of a role in the GOP. She added that people who support Republican Florida Sen. Rick Scott’s plan to have all Americans pay income taxes and “sunset” Medicare and Social Security are also “ultra MAGA.”

Perdue Issues Statement on ‘Out of Control’ Crime in Georgia and Threats Against SCOTUS

May 11, 2022May 10, 2022 Aaron Gulbransen

The Trump-endorsed candidate in the May 24 Republican primary, former U.S. Senator David Perdue, issued a statement on Monday in the aftermath of the shooting of six people on Mother’s Day.

“This is another tragic example of what happens when a Governor keeps his ‘powder dry’ instead of taking bold action to keep people safe. Crime is out of control across the state. People are being shot daily, but Brian Kemp is missing in action. This disaster is happening on his watch. My question to the people of Georgia is do you feel safe? If not, then it’s time for a new Governor. Nothing is more important to me than ensuring you and your family are safe.”

Deployment of Absentee Ballot Drop Boxes in Georgia Looks Significantly Different in First Statewide Election Since January 2021

May 10, 2022May 9, 2022 Laura Baigert

With the Georgia General Assembly’s passage of the Election Integrity Act of 2021, otherwise known as SB202, the application of absentee ballot drop boxes looks significant different in the first statewide elections since the January 5, 2021, federal runoff and special election for Georgia’s two U.S. Senate seats.

The use of drop boxes in the November 2020 presidential and January 2021 elections were enabled by an emergency rule promulgated by the State Election Board in June of 2020. During the November 2020 election, more than 300 absentee ballot drop boxes were deployed throughout the state, funded with $45 million in “Zuck Bucks” that flowed through the Center for Technology and Civic Life (CTCL) into Georgia, according to analysis conducted by Capital Research Center.

Polls Show Majority of Americans Agree with Overturning Roe v. Wade

May 10, 2022May 9, 2022 Susan Berry, PhD

Despite the narrative of the abortion industry and its political and media allies, several recent polls show the majority of Americans agree the Supreme Court should overturn Roe v. Wade and return decisions about abortion to the states.

Tim Carney at the Washington Examiner observed a YouGov poll published last week found 64% of Americans believe the Mississippi law that is at the center of the Supreme Court case – one that bans abortions past 15 weeks of pregnancy – is either acceptable, as is, or not restrictive enough.

Abortion Activist Rants Outside Catholic Church: ‘I’m Killing the Motherf***ing Babies!’

May 10, 2022May 9, 2022 Susan Berry, PhD

A woman dressed in a white bathing suit, stuffed in the front to make her appear pregnant, and with dolls hanging from it, ranted outside Old St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City Saturday, shouting, “I’m killiing the motherf***ing babies!” and “God killed his kid, why can’t I kill mine?”

The woman danced around outside the church in the rain, then complained, “My babies are all wet,” Kathryn Jean Lopez wrote at National Review, referring to this scene as “the most disturbing” of the pro-abortion protest that followed a leaked Supreme Court draft opinion on a case that could overturn Roe v. Wade.

Victor Davis Hanson Commentary: The Exasperated American

A large majority of Americans now have no confidence in Joe Biden and his administration, which often polls below 40 percent, with negatives nearing 60 percent.

Despite the 15-month catastrophe of his regime, the level of his own unpopularity remains understandable but still remarkable. After all, in 2020 voters already knew well of his cognitive deficits and the radicalism of his agenda. They saw both clearly starting in 2019 and during the 2020 Democratic primaries, the primary debates, and the general election.

So what did Biden’s voters imagine would happen when a cognitively challenged president, controlled by hard-Left subordinates, entered office — other than what he has done?

MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell Alleges Twitter Is Carrying Fake Accounts in His Name; His Just-Banned Official Account’s Takedown Reveals the Ruse

May 10, 2022May 9, 2022 Addison Basurto

MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell on Sunday launched a new Twitter account that was suspended less than four hours after its creation.

On the move by the social media giant, Lindell said, “Like the [banned] Twitter account, it’s more corrupt than you’ve seen there. Twitter, a week before that – a week before – they put up a fake account. Twitter’s done this three times to me, and then they run the account, and act like they’re me. So they go, ‘Oh, Mike’s okay with the election.’ Like everything’s business as normal.

Commentary: Federal Student Loans Create College Rankings Scandals

May 10, 2022May 9, 2022 RealClearWire

A whistleblower lawsuit filed last month alleges that Rutgers University’s business school artificially boosted its rankings by using a temp agency to hire MBA graduates and place them into “sham positions at the university itself,” according to NJ.com, which first reported the news. Though shocking, the scandal is the natural result of the incentives the federal government has set up for schools through uncapped student loan subsidies for graduate programs.

Rutgers has denied the charges. But the allegations are credible when considering the source: the lawsuit was filed by Deidre White, the human resources manager at Rutgers’ business school. Days later, a separate class-action lawsuit was filed by one of Rutgers’ MBA students.

Biden Tells Alito He Can Ignore Stare Decisis, Overturn Roe in 2006 Exchange – If He Has the Votes

May 10, 2022May 9, 2022 Julie Carr

Neil W. McCabe, the national political editor of The Star News Network, reports on how during the 2006 confirmation hearings for then-Judge Samuel Alito, then-Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr., suggested to Alito that he would be in his rights to engineer the overturn of the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision, regardless of concerns for precedence–if he had the votes.

Former Acting U.S. Attorney General Matthew Whitaker Endorses GA-6 Candidate Jake Evans

May 10, 2022May 9, 2022 Addison Basurto

Former Acting United States Attorney General Matthew Whitaker recently announced his full endorsement of Jake Evans, a candidate for Georgia’s 6th Congressional District.

The Trump-appointed former acting attorney general stated on Monday, “Jake shares my passion for backing the men and women in law enforcement who put their own safety on the line, make life-and-death decisions and face contempt and hate from the Left at every turn. If I was a 6th District voter … Jake Evans would be my choice for Congress.”

Georgia Department of Public Health Touts New Legislation That Protects Children from Lead

May 10, 2022May 9, 2022 Aaron Gulbransen

On Monday, the Georgia Department of Public Health touted newly passed legislation that, in the view of the agency, helps protect children from the dangers of lead.

In a statement, Kathleen E. Toomey, M.D., M.P.H., commissioner, Georgia Department of Public Health (DPH) said, “DPH is extremely grateful to the members of the General Assembly and the Governor for their decisive action which allows for a more robust program for identifying and preventing cases of lead poisoning, and protecting the children of Georgia.”

Biden Copies Trump Proposal to Refill Oil Reserves – and Spends Way More Doing It

The Biden administration announced plans Thursday to refill the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) two years after Democrats blocked the Trump administration’s similar, but cheaper proposal.

The Department of Energy (DOE) said it would initiate a long-term SPR replenishment plan involving a purchase of 60 million barrels of oil that would likely occur in 2023, according to the announcement. President Joe Biden has ordered a 50-million-barrel SPR release in November, a 30-million-barrel release on March 1 and a 180-million-barrel release on March 31 to combat rising gasoline prices.

University Students Hosted ‘White Student Accountability Group’ to ‘Dismantle Racism’: Report

The University of South Carolina is facing backlash over a “White Student Accountability Group” meeting that instructed students how to “recognize their contribution” to racism, according to a conservative student organization.

Students at the University of South Carolina (USC) College of Social Work were invited to attend a “White Student Accountability Group” meeting on April 26, according to emails obtained by conservative student organization Turning Point USA (TPUSA).

Stanford Professor Single-Handedly Debunks California’s Woke Math Standards

A Stanford University professor slammed California’s proposed Math Framework for being “false” and “misleading.”

Brian Conrad, Stanford University mathematics professor and director of Undergraduate Studies in Math, did a deep dive into the California Math Framework (CMF), which he laid out on his website. The proposal frequently contradicts the findings of academic studies its writers cite, according to Conrad’s analysis.

States That Legalized Marijuana Are Bringing in More Tax Revenue on Marijuana Sales than Alcohol

May 10, 2022May 9, 2022 The Center Square

A majority of the states that legalized recreational marijuana for recreational use are collecting more tax revenue from pot sales than alcohol sales.

The first two states to legalize pot are profiting the most, Colorado and Washington. Across the country, the total revenue for taxes on weed amounted to nearly $3 billion, according to a report on “sin taxes” by The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP).

AP Urges Media to Hold Off on ‘Pregnant People’ in the Wake of Roe Leak

The Associated Press updated its style guide on pregnancy and abortion Wednesday to discourage journalists from using gender-neutral phrases when writing about abortion despite having previously encouraged the terms.

Corporate media outlets use phrases like “pregnant people” to replace “pregnant women” in order to be more inclusive of transgender people. As the abortion debate has heated up after a leaked draft opinion revealed the Supreme Court would likely overturn Roe v. Wade, the AP told journalists to only use these gender-neutral phrases when specifically discussing transgender and nonbinary individuals.

Democrats’ Dreams Turn to Dust as Adjudicated Redistricting Maps Set the Stage for Large Republican Gains in 2022

The Democratic Party’s hopes of gaining seats from redistricting have been crushed as court decisions and an increasingly aggressive GOP produced more Republican-friendly maps.

Democrats were initially optimistic that they could mitigate projected midterm losses in the House when it appeared they were poised to score wins in the redistricting process. However, the party’s hopes have been dashed after key losses in major states erased their redistricting advantage.

Commentary: America’s Schools Face Mounting Threats from Cyberattacks

May 10, 2022May 9, 2022 RealClearWire

The U.S. education sector is in the midst of a cyber crisis. The shift to cloud-based virtual learning during COVID-19 created the perfect storm for threat actors to capitalize on: education IT departments, already weathering a shortage of physical resources, funding, and staffing, unexpectedly faced an even greater challenge. Without the human resources and advanced solutions to secure vulnerabilities in their networks, K-12 school districts and higher-ed institutions became easy targets.

Behind the Scenes of Christopher Rufo’s ‘Drop Disney’ Campaign

Disney is known as the “happiest place on Earth.” Manhattan Institute senior fellow Christopher Rufo could not disagree more.

Rufo, who has done extensive reporting on Critical Race Theory (CRT), launched the “Drop Disney” campaign against the company earlier this month over the company’s opposition to Florida’s Parental Rights in Education law, as well as its CRT trainings and promotion of gender ideology in children’s programming. Rufo’s goal is to instruct conservatives to “stop giving money to people who hate you,” and involves boycotting the company’s services and products.

Cobb County GOP Reports Problems with New Voting System

May 10, 2022May 9, 2022 Peter D'Abrosca

Just months after Georgia’s Secretary of State announced that the state’s voter registration management system would be changed, one county is reporting issues as early voting for the May 24 primary elections begins.

“Unfortunately, the 2022 Primary Advance Voting began with multiple issues at polling locations throughout Cobb County,” the Cobb County Republican Party said in a May 5 statement. “Since the polls opened on Monday, May 2, 2022, problems have included poll pad voter data being missing and incorrect information on certain ballots; some ballots excluded a State Representative race and some ballots excluded the Cityhood referendums. Since our vote is anonymous, once a ballot is cast there is no way to rectify an issue.”

In Georgia Governor’s Race, Perdue Hits Kemp for $1.5 Billion to Soros-Linked Company

A scandal is brewing in Georgia’s Republican gubernatorial primary, with candidate and former Sen. David Perdue accusing incumbent Gov. Brian Kemp of engaging in shady backroom deals and lining the pockets of liberal megadonor George Soros as part of a massive new economic development project in the Peach State.

“This may be the worst deal I’ve seen in my business career, honestly,” Perdue told the “Just the News, Not Noise” television program on Friday. “This was just done the wrong way. And I’ve called the governor out on that, and we’ve had no response.”

Georgia Lottery Amasses $367.2 Million in Profits for Last Quarter

May 9, 2022May 8, 2022 The Center Square

The Georgia Lottery brought in more than $367.2 million in profits during the third quarter of fiscal 2022, state officials said.

For the first three quarters of fiscal 2022, between July 1, 2021, and March 31, the lottery transferred more than $1.1 billion to the state’s Lottery for Education Account. Since its inception, the lottery has transferred more than $24.6 billion to the state.

Gubernatorial Candidate Kari Lake Calls Arizona 2020 Election Audit ‘Death by a Thousand Knife Wounds’

May 9, 2022May 8, 2022 Addison Basurto

When asked what big takeaway there was in the Maricopa County election audit, Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake told The Georgia Star News, “There were so many. It’s like death by a thousand paper cuts. I call it death by a thousand knife wounds because these are so much bigger than paper cuts.”

“We had 34,000 votes that were counted two, three or four times, 740,000 ballots with no chain-of-custody. They shouldn’t have even been counted, and it goes on and on. The wrong paper stock was used,” she added.

Commentary: Inflation Can’t Be Censored

An increasingly disturbing feature of American politics is the routine suppression of major news stories that reflect poorly on candidates favored by the Fourth Estate. The most egregious example in recent years occurred in October of 2020 when corporate news outlets and social media platforms colluded to bury a New York Post article on Hunter Biden. Fortunately, some stories just aren’t susceptible to such censorship. Inflation is a case in point. It can’t be hidden from the voters because soaring prices shout the bad news from every grocery store shelf and gas pump in the nation.

U.S. Election Assistance Commission Identifies Pierce County, Washington, for Best Practices in Chain of Custody for Vote-by-Mail Ballots Deposited in Drop Boxes

May 9, 2022May 9, 2022 Laura Baigert

The U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC) recognized Pierce County, Washington for its practices related to the chain of custody that helps track pick-up and chain of custody of vote-by-mail election ballots deposited in drop boxes.

Pierce County was an EAC “Clearie” Award winner in 2021 for outstanding innovations in elections for large jurisdictions. Having over 550,000 registered voters, Pierce County is Washington state’s second largest jurisdiction.

Commentary: Americans Are Sounding the Alarm over Big Tech Monopolies

Elon Musk’s Twitter acquisition — which can be summed up as the world’s wealthiest person buying one of the most powerful social media and news platforms — underscores one of the big problems with Big Tech.

In the absence of modernized anti-trust and anti-monopoly laws, Big Tech companies in the U.S. have amassed far too much economic and political control over society, and especially over the news and publishing industries.

Kamala Harris Delivers Democrat Talking Points in TSU Commencement Speech

May 9, 2022 Julie Carr

Aaron Gulbransen, a Political Reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network, reported from the Tennessee State University undergraduate commencement in Nashville, Tennessee where Vice President Kamala Harris was the featured speaker.

Julie Kelly Commentary: Justice Department Threatens Oath-Keepers with Life in Prison

In a letter obtained by American Greatness, the U.S. Department of Justice is threatening defendants charged with seditious conspiracy in the sprawling Oath Keepers case to accept plea deals or face life in prison.

Matthew Graves, the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia handling every prosecution related to the events of January 6, 2021, imposed a May 6 deadline for the remaining defendants to accept plea deals. Three men have pleaded guilty to seditious conspiracy; nine others, including Oath Keepers’ founder Stewart Rhodes, have rejected government attempts to reach a plea.

Diversity and Inclusion, Anti-Racism Featured Prominently in the MBA Programs Training America’s Future Corporate Leaders

MBA programs at universities across the country have added diversity, inclusion, and equity (DEI) initiatives into their program curriculum, orientations, leadership, events, and student groups.

Below is a list of how some universities across this country are training the future woke leaders of American businesses.

The list includes Michigan State University, where Disney CEO Bob Chapek received his MBA degree.

Abbott Considers Reviving Case Challenging Requirement to Have Illegal Immigrants in Public Schools

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott says he may challenge a longstanding Supreme Court decision that states U.S. states cannot prohibit illegal immigrant children from attending public schools.

The Republican governor said during a recent radio interview on a San Antonio talk show that he was mulling the action and agreed with the host of the program that the price of educating an expanding group of illegal immigrant children in many languages is “extraordinary.”

Biden’s Department of Justice Announces New ‘Office of Environmental Justice’

On Thursday, two of Joe Biden’s Cabinet members announced plans to create a new division within the Department of Justice that will focus on fighting for “environmental justice.”

As reported by Fox News, the joint announcement was made by Attorney General Merrick Garland and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Michael Regan. The new Office of Environmental Justice (OEJ) will serve as a “central hub” for a “comprehensive environmental justice enforcement strategy,” and will soon lay out a “series of actions” that will be taken in order to ostensibly “secure environmental justice for all Americans.”

Democratic State Attorneys General Ask Biden to Fully Forgive All Student Loan Debt

May 9, 2022May 9, 2022 The Center Square

Seven state attorneys general, and an eighth from Puerto Rico, have called upon President Joe Biden to fully cancel federal student debt estimated at more than $1.6 trillion.

The U.S. Education Department reports more than 43 million borrowers on average owe $37,000 in student loan debt. The USED already has forgiven $17 billion in student loan debt held by 725,000 borrowers since the beginning of the Biden administration.

Post-Leak Poll: Enthusiastic Voters Support Overturning Roe by Huge Margin